Photoaging is premature skin aging resulting from prolonged and repeated exposure to solar radiation [1]. The changes of photodamage are superimposed on the changes caused by chronologic aging (the so-called intrinsic or programmed aging) and are responsible for most of the age-associated features of skin appearance. Salient clinical features of photoaging include fine and coarse wrinkles, dyspigmentation, and loss of elasticity. (See "Normal aging", section on 'Skin'.)

Photodamage can be partially prevented and reversed with proper sun protection and various prescription medications. However, concerns about photoaging are primarily cosmetic and are influenced by geographical differences, culture, and personal values.

Photoaging is responsible for the majority of age-associated cosmetic skin problems in fair-skinned populations. In European and North American adult populations with skin phototypes I, II, and III (table 1), the prevalence of photoaging may be as high as 80 to 90 percent [2].

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